Literacy Issues

Literacy is defined in Scotland as:

“the ability to read and write and use numeracy, to handle information, to express ideas and opinions, to make decisions and solve problems, as family members, workers, citizens and lifelong learners”.

Literacy issues are linked to socio-economic and social class inequality. This can be due to poor experiences at school and lack of opportunity or other barriers early in life. Other groups such as asylum seekers or refugees may have additional needs in relation to literacy.

The way the health service produces information and the way practitioners communicate with their patients needs to take literacy issues into account. Otherwise this might impact on people’s health by-